In 95 years of service to Virginia’s Capital Region, Richmond International Airport has been a leader in environmental stewardship. Our commitment to a sustainable future is part of everything we do.

Sustainability is now part of RIC’s DNA. We continually integrate green practices into daily operations and long-term planning. “RIC is committed to conserving resources and being an environmentally responsible partner to the community we serve,” said Perry J. Miller, A.A.E., I.A.P., President and CEO. “As a Virginia Green Travel Partner since 2015, we constantly review operations for innovative sustainability solutions.”

Our team focuses on collaborative, innovative practices while keeping passenger, employee, and tenant safety paramount.

Since 2015, Richmond International Airport (RIC) has been a certified Virginia Green (https://www.virginiagreen.net/) travel partner. This program, a partnership among the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Tourism Corporation, and the Virginia Hospitality and Tourism Association, is a statewide effort to reduce the environmental impacts of Virginia's tourism industry. And as recently as April 2022, RIC received the Virginia Green Travel Leader Award.

The airport maintains more than 75 recycling containers in and around the public areas of the terminal complex and our outside properties to encourage travelers, employees, and tenants to participate in our recycling program. In addition, the airport ensures that paper products are made from recycled material and uses Green Seal Certified products such as 3M Diamond purple pads, Soloris Livi paper towels, and Stride Citrus SC Neutral Floor cleaner.

Overall, RIC recycles over 30 tons of recyclable materials per year, amounting to approximately 375,000 pounds over the past six years.

The Stormwater Management Facility (SWMF) at RIC involved the construction of a shallow marsh wetlands designed to treat storm water runoff for approximately 1,264 acres of airport land – including a sizable portion of the White Oak Swamp Creek – and nearly 400 acres of adjacent off-airport property. The SWMF consists of two basins, inlet and outlet structures, and shallow marsh plantings to treat storm water runoff.

Stormwater runoff can cause a number of environmental problems including the erosion of stream banks, damaging aquatic habitat, as well as the introduction of excess nutrients from fertilizers into rivers and streams.

The White Oak Swamp Creek drains via the Chickahominy River into the James River and ultimately into the Chesapeake Bay. With the completion of the $3.4 million SWMF project in mid-2001, RIC’s efforts to protect the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay were greatly enhanced.

At the 10th Annual Virginia Green Travel Conference held on March 21, 2023, in Virginia Beach, the Capital Region Airport Commission, owner and operator of Richmond International Airport (RIC), was among ten organizations recognized with a Virginia Green Travel Leader Award for its continued commitment to environmental stewardship. The Airport has been a certified Virginia Green Travel Partner since 2015. “Richmond International Airport (RIC) proudly supports green tourism in the Richmond Region and wherever guests may visit across the Commonwealth,” said Perry J. Miller, A.A.E., I.A.P., president and CEO of the Capital Region Airport Commission. “We’re in this for the long-haul and continuously evaluate means to reduce our environmental impact.”

More than 1,200 businesses and partner organizations have voluntarily certified their green commitments through Virginia Green.

"Conserving natural resources, engaging customers, and working to increase sustainable tourism business in Virginia, the Virginia Green Travel Certification program works to support and promote those businesses that are committed to reducing the environmental impacts of their operation,” says Tom Griffin, the Executive Director of the Virginia Green Travel Alliance. “We are proud to recognize these businesses as they are true partner in our efforts to promote sustainable tourism in Virginia!” The Virginia Green Travel program is run through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Tourism Corporation, Virginia State Parks, the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association, and the Virginia Green Travel Alliance. The program encourages green practices in all sectors of Virginia’s tourism industry. More than 1,200 businesses and partner organizations have voluntarily certified their green commitments through Virginia Green.

As RIC expanded in the 1990s and early 2000s with various capital improvement projects, it was required to create mitigation wetlands within the Chickahominy River watershed. In 1994, the Commission purchased a 278-acre tract in neighboring New Kent County.

In April 1999, the construction of the mitigation site began. Soil excavated from the site was used in constructing the Route 895 (Pocahontas Parkway) flyover for the Virginia Department of Transportation. At one point, work on the site was interrupted for two months by flooding and high groundwater caused by Hurricane Floyd. The site is located adjacent to the Chickahominy River and its floodplain. Extensive wetlands, consisting of mature bald cypress surround the site. Approximately 39 acres of forested wetlands were created by site construction. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers required monitoring of the site for ten years and the Commission was released from this obligation in 2009 when it was determined by the Corps that the site was “…successfully meeting all the required successful site criteria.”

Many species of birds, such as bald eagles, great blue herons, egrets, least bitterns, turkeys, red-tailed hawks, and a wide variety of ducks have variously occupied the site. Additionally, evidence of activity by deer, muskrat, and beavers is commonly observed. The site has created a wetlands bank to offset wetlands losses on the airfield. Of the original 49.62 credits, 16.01 credits remain after offsetting airfield and roadway projects at RIC and assisting Hanover County Airport with an offset for an airfield project.